Hi book pals! July is #disabilitypridemonth and I didn't want to let the month pass without offering up some amazing horror reads featuring disabled characters.
According to TheArc.org, "Disability Pride Month is celebrated every July and is an opportunity to honor the history, achievements, experiences, and struggles of the disability community. Why July? It marks the anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), landmark legislation that broke down barriers to inclusion in society."
With discrimination still happening towards disabled folks around the country, adding books to your shelves that feature disabled characters is a small way you can both diversify your shelves and help give visibility to disabilities.
If you have any recommendations to share, feel free to drop them in the comments!
Ghost Doors by Frank Lambert
"Napoleon Xylophone hates his name, that’s why his friend calls him Zam. His life is about to change when his grandfather is abducted by a supernatural being. Zam doesn’t let his walking disability get in the way of fighting the changelings, wytes and gargoyles that come to life in the Underworld beneath Newcastle where his grandfather is held against his will. Not when he has a ghost for a friend, a wheelchair that thinks it's a changeling, and a grandfather who created a new life form that allows whoever wears it to speak to Time."
Why you'll love it: Ghost Doors is funny, unique, and heartwarming. It's part fantasy and adventure with a good helping of horror.
Captain Quad by Sean Costello
"If you're an optimist, you've probably heard the expression, 'When one door closes, another one opens.' But for Peter Gardner, a young man fresh out of high school with a literal bank of doorways standing open to him, they all slam shut at once. A terrible accident leaves him quadriplegic, paralyzed from the neck down, shattering his dreams of flying, tearing his family apart, and ending a cherished relationship with his girl. Now, he wishes only for death.
But ironically, it is a brush with death which opens a new door for Peter. And when he 'steps' through, it is not into sunlight and promise, but into the darkest reaches of fury, torment and revenge.
So ask yourself this: "Do I have the courage to step through with him?""
Why you'll love it: A fun story with fully fleshed, unapologetically human characters.
Don't Go To Wheelchair Camp by David Irons
"After a horrible accident that kills her sister, ten-year-old Terri Wilcox has to live her life in a wheelchair. She becomes a burden for her passive mom and aggressive dad. So one summer, they send Terri to Camp Cherry Plain – Wheelchair Camp. She thought it was a place she could fit in, but she soon realizes that's not the case.
Why does Johnny Harrison – the boy's head counselor, keep disappearing into the woods?
Why does Mercedes Lane – the privileged blonde camper – keep wheeling herself from their cabin at night?
Why would Tommy Knox – the kid from juvey – have a knife hidden in his wheelchair?
Someone at Wheelchair Camp has a dark secret.
One by one, campers and counselors begin to die, and only a handful of the wheelchair-bound kids are left to fend for their lives as a brutal killer stalks them.
They should have been warned …
They should have been told …
Don't go to Wheelchair Camp.
It puts a new spin on terror."
Why you'll love it: A retro vibes slasher with tons of blood!
Osgood as She Gets by Cooper S Beckett
"Within the mysterious confines of Chicago's Andersonville neighborhood, Prudence Osgood, 45, queer AF, tormented by chronic pain, opioid addiction, and a tempestuous relationship with alcohol, captains The Spectral Inspectors—an ensemble of ghost hunters, each wrestling with their inner ghosts. In "Osgood as She Gets," the third installment of The Spectral Inspector series, a sinister phenomenon known as The Graveyard Game emerges, drawing in fearless teenagers who dare to confront their own mortality by gazing into the hooded statue's eyes. As suicides surge, a chilling question arises: Is this disturbing game to blame, or does it have a connection to the elusive North Side Slasher? With time running out, The Spectral Inspectors must unravel the mystery that threatens their beloved city."
Why you'll love it: Twisty and tense, this book can be read stand-alone or as a part of a thrilling series!
Vanity Kills by Erica Summers
"Haunted by his tragic past, Jack LeBlanc, a scarred introvert living in the bayous of southern Louisiana, signs up for a clinical trial to test the miraculous new tissue-regeneration drug, Obsidian. It isn't long until Jack and the other lab rats discover that the medication is not what was promised. They’re about to find out the hard way that the pills have nightmarish consequences."
Why you'll love it: This book is superb body horror that reads like a movie in the best way. It has complex, interesting characters that pull you right in!
*Bonus recs for Disability Pride Month!!
Experimental Film by Gemma Files
Into The Drowning Deep by Mira Grant
Camp Damascus by Chuck Tingle
Key Lime Sky by Al Hess
Don't forget to read diverse as often as possible and add some of these wonderful books to your TBR.
Drop a rec of your own for Disability Pride Month down below.
Happy reading!
-Kirsten, @thespineofmotherhood
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